US Embassy in Ankara Turkey bombed by Terrorists

Mike Gallagher

Feb 1, 2013 - 11:57

Feb 3, 2013 - 08:37

0 1.6k

US Embassy in Ankara Turkey bombed by Terrorists

Two police officers arrive at gate two of the U.S. Embassy just minutes after a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device

The White House has declared a bomb attack on the U.S. Embassy in Ankara as an 'act of terror' as Westeers were waed to be vigilant across Turkey today.

A suicide bomber detonated the explosive outside the Embassy in the Turkish capital at 1.15pm local time, killing a guard and themselves.

Turkish officials blamed the attack on domestic leftists but President Obama's spokesman said it was not yet known who was responsible for the 'terrorist act'

Stills from an unverified online video purport to show the aftermath of the Ankara bombing

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Several people were injured and joualists reported seeing two bodies pulled from the wreckage

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Paramedics stretcher an injured person into a waiting ambulance after the blast

New Secretary of State, John Kerry, due to be swo in today, faces a tough introduction to the job as officials in Istanbul waed there could be further outrages.

38-year-old Didem Tuncay, a television joualist who was reportedly at the embassy to get a U.S. visa, was said to be 'seriously wounded' but not in a life-threatening condition.

Two other guards sustained lighter wounds in the blast, Turkey's interior minister, Muammer Guler, told reporters. He also blamed the attack on a domestic left-wing militant group but did not explain why.

A police official, meanwhile, said the bomber is most likely a suspected member of the outlawed Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not permitted to speak to the press.

The group has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States but had been relatively quiet in recent years.

The explosion occurred inside the security checkpoint at the side entrance to the U.S. embassy, which was being used by staff.

A guard standing outside the checkpoint was killed and while the two other guards 'were standing in a more protected area,' Guler said.

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Medics carry an injured woman on a stretcher to an ambulance after a suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at the entrance of the U.S. Embassy in the Turkish capital, Ankara

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Emergency personnel are seen in front of a side entrance of the U.S. Embassy in Ankara

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Rescuers take a victim of the blast to a waiting ambulance. Two were killed in the blast outside the U.S. embassy, local television reported

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People stand outside the entrance of the US embassy in Ankara where the blast killed two security guards

Police and ambulances swarmed the area and authorities immediately cordoned it off.

TV footage showed the embassy door blown off its hinges. The windows of nearby businesses were also shattered by the power of the blast, and debris littered the ground and across the road. The inside of the embassy did not appear to be damaged.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the attack demonstrated a need for inteational cooperation against terrorism and was aimed at disturbing Turkey's 'peace and prosperity.'

'But we will stand firm and we will overcome this together,' he said.

In a statement, the U.S. Embassy thanked Turkey for 'its solidarity and outrage over the incident.'

The embassy building is heavily protected and located near several other embassies in Ankara, including that of Germany and France.

The Hurriyet newspaper said staff at the embassy took shelter in 'safe room' inside the compound soon after the explosion.

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Damage: Turkish police begin the search for clues at the scene of the blast

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There was no claim of responsibility, but Kurdish rebels and Islamic militants are active in Turkey

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Aftermath: Phones were not being answered at the embassy

'We can confirm a terrorist blast at a check point on the perimeter of our embassy compound in Ankara, Turkey, at 1.13pm local time,' State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in Washington.

'We are working closely with the Turkish national police to make a full assessment of the damage and the casualties, and to begin an investigation,' she said.

Turkish police were examining security cameras around the embassy.

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Police forensic experts work on the site of a blast outside the US Embassy in Ankara

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Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has confirmed the explosion was a suicide attack

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Turkish police secure the area after an explosion in front of U.S. Embassy in Ankara

U.S. diplomatic facilities in Turkey have been targeted previously by terrorists. In 2008, an attack blamed on al-Qaida-affiliated militants outside the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul left three assailants and three policemen dead.

Elsewhere, terrorists attacked a U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, on Sept. 11 last year, killing U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. The attackers in Libya were suspected to have ties to Islamist extremists, and one is in custody in Egypt.

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The force of the blast damaged nearby buildings in the Cankaya neighbourhood where many other state institutions and embassies are also located

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Blast: Emergency personnel are seen in front of a side entrance to the U.S. Embassy

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A suicide bomb went off outside the U.S. Embassy in Ankara today killing two, news reports said

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The bomb appeared to have exploded inside the security checkpoint at the entrance of the visa section of the embassy

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The blast went off in the Turkish capital Ankara (marked on map)

Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague condemned the attack 'in the strongest terms,' and said Turkey and the U.S. will get the U.K.'s full support as they seek to hold those responsible to account.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, speaking to reporters during a visit to Belgrade, Serbia, said he was saddened that the attacked had occurred in Turkey.

'We have always shown great sensitivity to the protection of foreign missions and we will continue to do so,' he said.

Homegrown Islamic militants tied to al-Qaida have also carried out suicide bombings in Istanbul, Turkey's bustling commercial center. In a 2003 attack on the British consulate, a suspected Islamic militant rammed an explosive-laden pickup truck into the main gate, killing 58 people, including the British consul-general.

Turkey is also being deeply affected by the brutal civil war in neighboring Syria, and has become a harsh critic of President Bashar Assad's regime there. The war has left at least 60,000 people dead so far, according to the U.N., and Turkey is sheltering tens of thousands of Syrian refugees.

The first of six Patriot missile batteries being deployed to Turkey to protect the country against attack from Syria was just declared operational and placed under NATO command. Others are expected to become operational in the coming days.

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